


Operation Queer Things Up

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Classism, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fem!Cas, Female Castiel/Female Dean Winchester, Homophobia, fem!dean, fem!destiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-14
Updated: 2014-11-15
Packaged: 2018-02-25 08:20:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2614880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Castiel is forced to return to her homophobic family's home for her brother Michael's wedding, her best friend and roommate Deanna offers to go with her as her pretend girlfriend to shield Cass from her mother's attempts to set her up with a man. Which is totally selfless on Deanna's part, of course. Because she is totally and completely straight and not at all in love with her best friend. Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Deanna came home from Singer Salvage one afternoon to find Cass pacing the living room of their small, two-bedroom apartment anxiously, her cell phone held up to her ear and worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she listened intently to someone on the other end of the line.

She dropped her keys on the table by the entryway and immediately went to go sit on the couch to wait for Cass to be free to talk—she hadn’t seen her best friend look this upset in quite a while.

Cass met her worried stare and grimaced.

“And you’re absolutely sure?” she asked whomever was on the other end. Assumedly the person answered in the affirmative, because Cass groaned and rubbed her fingers into her temple. “Well, thank you for warning me, Gabe, really,” she said earnestly, brows still furrowed.

Now Deanna was even more confused. Sure, Cass got along better with her brother Gabriel than any of the other homophobic whack jobs in her family, but they still didn’t talk that often. She realized it must have something to do with Castiel’s brother Michael’s wedding this weekend—an event that Castiel had been dreading for months.

Sure enough, after she had said her goodbyes to her brother and hung up the phone, Castiel turned to Deanna with a crumpled, defeated sort of face that did not make Deanna’s heart break. Or, you know, at least any more than a totally platonic roommate’s would.

“My mother is setting me up with a man named Raphael at the wedding,” Cass said flatly before collapsing onto the couch beside Deanna.

“What?!” Deanna exclaimed, turning towards her best friend. Even the worst-case scenarios in her head hadn’t predicated that level of complete disrespect. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Cass sighed and buried her face in her hands. “Sadly, I am not,” she mumbled into her palms.

“Did anyone happen to remind her that you’re totally and completely _gay_?” Deanna questioned in disbelief. “And that you’ve come out to them, what, like five times already?”

“I think that’s the point,” Cass said, now leaning back on the couch and resting her head on Deanna’s shoulder.

Deanna’s breath caught. Just a comfort thing, she reminded herself. Cass did this sometimes—curled up next to her, placed a lingering hand, etc.—but that was only because they had been best friends for years now, and Cass needed her right now.

“Apparently Gabriel overheard her and my Uncle Zachariah talking, and they thought I just ‘hadn’t met the right young man yet,’” Cass continued hollowly.

“So basically this Raphael dude is going to somehow make you see the light of heterosexuality?” Deanna asked sardonically, and Cass nodded against her shoulder.

“Don’t go,” Deanna declared more harshly than she intended, but then just decided to go all out. “Fuck them, Cass. You’re better than them, and if they don’t accept you completely for who you are, then they don’t deserve you,” she said earnestly. “And Jesus Christ, what kind of name is Raphael, anyway?” she continued before she could stop herself. “If your mother was going to fundamentally disrespect your identity by setting you up with a man, the least she could do is make sure he isn’t named after a freaking Ninja Turtle.”

That earned a quiet little chuckle from Cass, who burrowed more comfortably into Deanna’s shoulder. “No, I still need to go,” she said after a contemplative pause. “Michael and I may not be on the best terms, but he is still my brother. And if I don’t go—she wins. I just need to go and… show her how gay I am or something,” she concluded uncertainly.

Deanna huffed a laugh. “And how exactly are you going to go about doing that?”

“No idea,” Cass admitted tiredly.

But suddenly Deanna was struck with an idea. A really, really bad idea.

“What if you took me with you?” she asked quietly.

The question prompted Cass to sit back up straight on the couch so she could meet Deanna’s green eyes. Deanna tried not to be too disappointed, her shoulder suddenly feeling strangely cold.

“While I’d appreciate the moral support, I don’t think the presence of my roommate will convince my mother of my homosexuality,” Cass said in confusion.

Deanna suppressed her disappointment at the reminder of the non-romantic nature of their relationship. “I mean…” Deanna swallowed. “I could go as your date. You know. Like… pretend to be your girlfriend or whatever.”

Cass tilted her head, and at first Deanna thought she was going to tell her that she had lost it. But instead, after several quiet moments marked only by the surely audible churning in Deanna’s gut, a small smile spread slowly over Cass’s whole face.

“You would do that for me?” Cass asked shyly.

“Of course I would, Cass, don’t be a fucking idiot,” she said with a push at Castiel’s shoulder. “You’re my best friend.”

Cass was looking at her with so much admiration that it made Deanna squirm, so she continued more light-heartedly, “And besides, while maybe you can’t talk back to Naomi, that doesn’t mean _I_ can’t give her hell.”

They both laughed, and Castiel’s smile was so warm that Deanna felt guilty about her ulterior motives here. While Cass and Deanna had been roommates throughout all of college and in the couple years since and Deanna had been supportive of Cass as she came to accept her sexuality and come out to her extremely conservative, religious family at the conclusion of their sophomore year, it hadn’t been until more recently that she realized that she may also be less than completely straight.

Here Cass was looking at her like she was a total saint for agreeing to pretend to be her girlfriend for a weekend, when really she wants nothing more than to actually _be_ Castiel’s girlfriend. Because it had been becoming increasingly impossible to deny that she was completely fucking in love with her.

It felt twisted and wrong to suggest this plan when Castiel obviously thought of Deanna as her platonic, completely straight best friend, but Deanna just pushed it down. She was, after all, quite skilled in the art of emotional suppression after denying her bisexuality for twenty-three years and running.

“You’re sure you want to do this?” Cass asked uncertainly. “I mean…” she paused, biting her lip and shifting on the couch in seeming nervousness. “We may have to hold hands, and… kiss, and whatever.”

The thought sent a guilty thrill through her. “Cass,” she said with a smile, “I’m determined to be so extraordinarily gay that not a single member of your family dares to question your sexuality ever again.”

Castiel just beamed. “Yes, okay,” she agreed. “I’m beginning to look forward to this,” Cass admits, before warning, “my family is going to be a complete nightmare, though.”

“How bad can it be?” Deanna asked.


	2. Chapter 2

Really fucking bad, as it turns out.

They arrived at Naomi Milton’s house—no, scratch that, Deanna thought, _mansion_ —on Friday night. Cass had wanted to buy Deanna a last minute plane ticket, but Deanna had refused, insisting that they get up early on Thursday—the morning after their conversation—and take the Impala. Castiel had eventually had mercy and grumblingly agreed, canceling her flight reservation as Deanna had called Bobby, who had been more than happy to give her a few of days off from the garage. 

They sat in the Impala that Deanna had just parked in the enormous gated driveway, and Deanna looked up at Cass’s family mansion with a lump in her throat.

“Are you okay?” Cass’s voice finally came from the passenger seat.

“There are fucking turrets on your house, Castiel,” Deanna said with something like horror.

“If you don’t want to do this…” Cass’s voice wavered, causing Deanna to tear her gaze from the house before her and glare at her best friend.

“Of _course_ I do, Cassie, just… Jesus Christ,” she grumbled.

Cass grimaced. “My mother will likely chastise you for taking the Lord’s name in vain. Just… as a warning.”

Deanna rolled her eyes. “Of course she will. Super.”

After she had finally mustered up sufficient courage, Deanna turned to Cass and nodded. They exited the Impala with their bags for the weekend and approached the enormous front door together, and Cass reached out to ring the doorbell.

An impervious looking man in uniform answered the door with a slight bow. “Mistress Milton,” he said to Cass before gesturing them inside.

“May I take your coats?” he asked. Deanna shook her head, wanting to keep her leather jacket on for courage, but Cass slipped hers off and handed it to him.

As he escorted them to the sitting room, Deanna tried not to panic at the grandeur all around her. She had known that Cass had grown up rich, and she also knew that from the moment that Cass had come out to her family she had effectively forfeited any claim to the family fortune.

Still, she had not quite prepared herself for this.

“You have a fucking butler?” Deanna mouthed to Cass as they sat on something uncomfortable that vaguely resembled a sofa.

Cass just rolled her eyes and took Deanna’s hand, twining their fingers together.

Deanna rationally knew that it was just part of the façade, but her heart fluttered a bit nonetheless.

They did not have to wait long before a woman entered the room. If Cass’s whole body tensing was not enough of a clue as to the woman’s identity, her business-like pantsuit, austere bun, and haughty expression meant that this had to be Cass’s mother Naomi.

“Hello, Castiel,” she greeted coldly.

“Mother,” Cass acknowledged.

“And who is this?” Naomi asked, looking up and down Deanna and openly taking in her tattered jeans, her plaid shirt, and her leather jacket with an expression of disdain.

“This is Deanna Winchester,” Cass said, her voice only wavering slightly. “My girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you,” Deanna said with a sardonic smile that made clear that it was decidedly not.

Cass was gripping onto her hand so tightly that Deanna was losing feeling in her fingers, but she didn’t care. She would be whatever Cass needed to get through this—including human stress ball.

Naomi glanced between them and took in their joined hands. Even though she looked like she could shoot lasers from her eyes, she maintained her air of cold austerity.

“Well, Castiel,” she said, “How nice of you to bring your… _friend_. Of course, it is rather unexpected, I will have to have a room prepared for her—”

“No,” Cass interrupted firmly, and Deanna stroked her thumb across her friend’s hand in support. “Deanna will stay with me.”

Her mother scoffed. “Castiel, it is not appropriate for you and your friend to—”

Deanna had had enough. “Oh, I think you misunderstood your daughter,” she interjected with false politeness. “I’m not her friend. I’m her _girlfriend_ ,” she said with emphasis. Cass was trembling slightly beside her, and Naomi looked murderous. “Like—we fuck each other on a regular basis.” Her voice held its conviction, but Deanna couldn’t help but think to herself, “Anyway, I would _like_ to fuck your daughter on a regular basis…”.

Deanna was half-convinced that Naomi was going to pull out a sword or a knife or something to run her through with as they stared each other down. Deanna refused to give an inch as she met those blue eyes that resembled Cass’s in color but that altogether lacked Cass’s warmth and kindness.

Instead Naomi just walked to the little rich people tea cart by the side of the couch and rang a bell. The butler entered again, and Naomi’s voice trembled only slightly with anger as she asked, “Will you escort my daughter and her guest to separate rooms for the weekend, please?”

The butler bowed slightly in affirmation and gestured for Deanna and Cass to follow him. Deanna kept Cass’s hand tightly clasped in hers and glared at Naomi before they left the room (it took every ounce of self control not to stick her tongue out at her).

The butler picked up Deanna’s bag on the way before they headed up the stairs. “Mistress Milton, your bag is already in your old room. Mistress…”

“…Deanna,” she responded.

“Yes, well, you will be in one of the guest rooms,” he said as they ascended the stairs.

“Yeah, not happening, Jeeves,” Deanna said as they reached the landing. She took her bag off of the rather astounded looking butler. “Lead the way, Cassie,” she instructed cheerfully, and she was happy to see the first quirk of a smile on Cass’s face since they had arrived as she led Deanna down the hall and into the last bedroom on the right.

They locked the door behind them.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as the door locked behind them with a click, Deanna found herself with her arms full of Castiel.

Which was, as suspected, a position she would like to be in more often.

“Thank you, Dee, _thank you_ , God, I’m sorry, that was terrible—” Cass spluttered as she pulled her friend closer to her.

Deanna dropped her bag on the floor so she could better wrap her arms around Cass, who was still trembling slightly.

“Shh, Cassie, it’s fine, it’s fine,” she said soothingly. “We’re good for now. And come on, that was pretty fucking badass,” she added with a grin. “I loved telling your mother to go fuck herself.”

Cass laughed. “Yes, you were perfect,” she said earnestly, “I’m sorry I wasn’t much use, I was so nervous—”

“No, Cass, you were awesome,” she reassured, pulling back so she could look her best friend in the eye. “You have a lot more to lose and to be nervous about, which is why I’m here to say the really confrontational things.”

Cass nodded and stepped out of the hug, letting out a lot of the remaining tension in her body with a deep breath.

“Do you think she’ll do something once she finds out we’re in the same room?” Deanna asked.

“No, I doubt it,” Cass answered. “She’ll be furious, but she’ll respond much more passive aggressively—she would never make a scene.”

Deanna nodded and finally took in the room around them.

“So this was your room growing up?” she asked curiously. It admittedly did not look at all like Cass with its off-white walls and embossed furnishings—not to mention the large crucifix hanging over the bed. But then again, this whole house fit Cass about as well as a Westboro Baptist Church member fit a gay pride parade. Cass was a rumpled bed and a chipped mug full of coffee and fantastically ugly sweaters with cats on them, not these harsh lines and cold colors.

“Only in that this is the same space that my room once occupied,” Cass said, looking around at the décor (or lack thereof, as the style was rather minimalist even in its extravagancy) with obvious distaste. “It was obviously scrubbed of any trace of me after I came out.”

Deanna grimaced, although she had assumed as much. “I’m sorry, Cassie,” she said genuinely. “That sucks.”

Cass just shrugged and moved to sit down on the bed. “It’s okay, it never felt much like home to me anyway.”

“So…” Deanna began awkwardly, looking between the bed and the floor. “You take the bed and I’ll take the floor?”

Cass squinted at her and tilted her head in that adorably familiar way. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean—I—the whole sharing a room thing was for your mother’s benefit, yeah?” Deanna stumbled out awkwardly. “So I just thought—”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Dee,” Cass interrupted. “We can share the bed. It’s a double, and I promise my lesbianism isn’t contagious as my family seems to fear.”

Deanna was about to protest at the latter part only to see a teasing twinkle in Cass’s blue eyes, so she just laughed. “Yeah, okay,” she assented, wishing that she could find the words to tell Cass that what she feared were her own desires for Cass on which she could never act. Cass was her best friend, and even in being extremely open to Deanna about her sexuality had never once intonated that she felt anything other than platonic friendship for Deanna. Who was Deanna to risk fucking up the best relationship she had ever had aside from that with her sister Sammy over her own confused sexuality?

She was interrupted from her somewhat self-pitying reverie by Cass getting up from the bed with a quick smile at Deanna as she picked up her bag and went into the adjoining bathroom to get ready for bed. Deanna looked at the clock and was shocked by how late it was—they should get to sleep soon to be ready to face the Milton family time leading up to the rehearsal dinner tomorrow. She could not suppress a groan at the thought of meeting the rest of Cass’s gigantic family. If those encounters went anything like the one with Naomi, it was going to be a very long day.

While Cass was still in the bathroom Deanna slipped out of her jeans and plaid and replaced them with an old _Star Trek_ t-shirt and boxers, pulling her short hair back in a messy ponytail.

She was just pulling down the covers of the bed when Cass came out of the bathroom in a familiar ensemble of a camisole and capri pajama pants. Deanna was about to ask which side of the bed Cass wanted when she took in Cass’s troubled expression.

“What is it, Cass?” she asked with concern.

“Are you sure this is okay?” Cass responded with a frown, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

For one horrible moment Deanna thought she was asking if it was really okay to share a bed when clearly Deanna was totally in love with her and that Cass was going to be angry with her for not being more honest about her feelings or her bisexuality when Cass was so open and honest and generous and—

“I hate that you’re going to get so much shit from my family when this isn’t even real,” Cass continued, gesturing between the two of them.

That caused Deanna’s stomach to churn for a whole different reason.

_It’s real to me_ , she wanted to say. _Please, just give me a sign, any sign, and we can make it real_ —

“It was my idea, Cass,” she heard herself say instead. “I want to do this. Seriously.”

“Okay,” Cass responded hesitantly, “But if you change your mind I can go to my mother and tell her this was all just to mess with her and that—”

“Just come here, Castiel,” Deanna said, her exasperation with her friend’s continued guilt doing little to mask the underlying tone of fondness as she crawled onto the bed and patted the space beside her.

Cass smiled a bit turned off the light before collapsing on the other side of the bed, drawing herself beneath the covers. Deanna slid beneath them as well and laid on her side to face Cass, whose face she could still dimly make out in the darkness.

“Goodnight, Dee,” Cass said with a yawn, and in a quieter voice, she added, “Thank you for being here.”

“‘Night, Cassie,” she responded with a smile, trying to suppress the excited hum reverberating through her body at being close enough to Castiel to feel her breath on her face, the warmth radiating from her limbs.

Cass did nothing to help the matter when she crossed the negligible space between them to grasp Deanna’s hand. Deanna was sure that her resulting intake of breath echoed like a gunshot throughout the whole room. When Cass did not draw away she slowly wound their fingers together, her mind buzzing excitedly.

There was no one here for whom to perform. This was just for them. Could that mean Cass wanted this to be real too?

While Cass’s quiet snores commenced a mere few minutes later, Deanna laid awake for a long while, staring at the places where her skin met Cass’s in quiet, disbelieving awe.


	4. Chapter 4

Deanna woke up to a mouthful of hair.

Awake instantly upon the realization, she pushed herself back to her side of the bed and appraised the situation with alarm.

Apparently at some point in the night her and Cass’s hands had become disentangled, and instead Deanna had invaded Cass’s side of the bed and practically spooned against her.

She took in Cass’s sleeping form, still trying to calm down. At least Cass hadn’t woken up to find Deanna wrapped around her. That would have led to a very awkward conversation indeed.

_Although_ , she thought to herself as she took in the way the covers were pooled over Cass and cascading down Cass’s side of the bed, _Cass is clearly a blanket hog. I probably just moved closer to her in the night to keep warm_.

_Yeah right_ , said another part of her, _you know exactly what caused this. This was why you were afraid of sharing a bed with her in the first place_.

Deanna groaned. It was way too early to be having such animated conversations with herself in her head. She reached for the grossly ornate bedside table to grab her phone, and sure enough, there was still about a half hour to go before their alarms would go off to get them up to face this horror of a day. Her adrenaline already pumping at the near-miss with Cass and the prospect of the day ahead, Deanna knew she would never be able to fall back asleep and instead opted for an early shower.

She took her time under the hot water, trying to let it dispel some of her anxiety, shampooing and re-shampooing her hair and psyching herself up for the day ahead. Once she was finished and wrapped up in a towel, she re-entered the bedroom and spared a tender glance at Cass’s sleeping form (she hadn’t moved an inch) as she grabbed a change of clothes—a simple black dress, with the flare of some fishnets, black boots, and her favorite black leather jacket for the extra “fuck you” factor.

She was just rubbing her hair dry with her towel when Cass’s alarm went off—some annoying pop song that made Deanna roll her eyes. Cass’s little annoyed groan as she fumbled to turn it off made Deanna’s lips twitch into a half-smile. Goddamn, but why did Cass have to be so freaking _cute_ ?

“Come on, Cass,” she said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and shaking Cass’s shoulder. “Brunch starts in half an hour.”

Cass just groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. “Don’t wanna,” she mumbled from underneath the covers.

Deanna chuckled. “I’m sure there will be coffee down there.”

“There will also be my mother down there,” Cass grumbled, and Deanna could practically hear her scowl.

“And doesn’t the prospect of putting a frown on her face first thing in the morning just warm your gay little heart?” Deanna asked with a teasing poke.

That got Cass to push the covers back from her face. She squinted blearily up at Deanna. “Yes,” she admitted after a pause.

“Then get your ass into the shower,” Deanna said with a push at her friend’s shoulder.

Cass rolled her eyes, but sure enough, pushed herself out of bed and headed into the bathroom. As the water came on, Deanna tried her best to not dwell on the image of Cass’s bare body underneath the hot water, and instead busied herself with trying to make her short hair lie in a reasonably neat way.

It almost alarmed Deanna how awake Cass looked as she emerged from the bathroom clad only in a towel in order to gather up a change of clothes. Deanna knew from experience that if Cass was awake enough to even perform basic human functions without three cups of coffee that it was some fucking serious shit. She got on her phone in an effort to dispel her mounting nerves and lost herself in a game of solitaire as Cass finished getting ready.

Deanna’s heart jumped a little as Cass exited the bathroom again in a simple blue dress that impossibly made her eyes stand out even more, her dark, damp hair falling in messy waves about her shoulders.

“What is it?” Cass asked warily as she put on her shoes.

“Huh?” Deanna said stupidly, blinking herself out of her daze.

“You’re looking at me funny—do I look okay?” Cass asked, patting down her hair nervously.

Deanna smiled shyly at being caught staring. “You look great, Cassie. Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Cass responded, heading for the bedroom door. She reached back absentmindedly in order to take Deanna’s hand in hers—almost as if she were doing it for the two of them rather than for everyone else. Deanna squeezed Cass’s hand as they closed the door behind them and descended the stairs, daring to hope.

Downstairs everything was already a bustle of activity. The sitting room that Deanna and Cass had met Naomi in last night had been transformed. The majority of the furniture had been pushed to the sides of the room in order to open up space for people to mill around and converse. A long table ran along the entire length of the back wall, overflowing with all sorts of fancy foods Deanna could not even begin to identify, and black-and-white-clad hired help circulated the room offering food and drinks on trays.

Deanna could feel the nerves radiating off of Castiel in waves as she looked around and took in her family, extended family, and family friends. She gave her friend’s hand another reassuring squeeze. “Coffee?” she asked (as if it were even a question).

“Please,” Cass responded quietly. The two of them made their way over to the buffet table, only unclasping their hands once necessary to fill two china cups with the dark, hot liquid.

Deanna turned to survey the room as Cass added a splash of cream to her cup, preferring her own coffee black. She took in Naomi in the far corner of the room talking to a couple Deanna assumed to be Michael and his soon-to-be wife. The rest of the faces were unfamiliar, but Deanna took in the sea of expensive dresses, the well-pressed suits, the pearls, the fancy up-dos, the chatter and trilling laughter with disdain.

“Where do we start?” Deanna asked Cass in a conspiratorial way that felt like they were mapping out a battle stratagem—although really they may as well be. Cass turned to take in the crowd as well before her eyes brightened a bit upon settling upon one figure in the middle of the room—a young, balding man talking animatedly to the people around him. “Gabriel,” Cass said with a relieved smile. “That will be a safe start.”

Deanna nodded, actually rather eager to finally meet the only member of Cass’s family that Cass could stand. She took Cass’s hand in hers again before allowing Cass to lead the way into the throng of people.

Gabriel saw them approaching and cut off in the middle of whatever he was saying to the three other people gathered around him. “Little sis!” he cried out, raising what appeared to be a Bloody Mary ( _Alcohol_ , Deanna thought, _Why didn’t I think of that_ ) and making his way towards them, his previous company entirely forgotten.

He wrapped his arms around Cass in an enthused hug as soon as he was close enough, and Cass laughed and dropped Deanna’s hand to properly hug her brother. Deanna looked on with an amused smile at the exchange, glad to see someone could make Cass smile today.

“It’s been ages,” Gabriel said as he pulled away. “You look so grown up.”

“Well, if you would actually visit from time to time rather than dropping off the map and traveling who knows where,” Cass responded teasingly.

“Fair enough,” Gabriel shrugged. “Can you blame me though? Have to put as much distance as possible between me and these snobs.” He did not even bother to keep his voice down, causing some of the people around them to give him an affronted glare. Gabriel just smiled and waved at them. Deanna couldn’t help but laugh out loud at their faces, which caused Gabriel to look at her directly for the first time.

“Oh, and who is this beauty, Cass?” he asked curiously. Deanna rolled her eyes at that.

“Oh, Gabriel, this is my—my girlfriend, Deanna Winchester,” Cass responded, faltering only slightly.

“Your girlfriend?” Gabriel asked with raised eyebrows as he extended a hand towards Deanna. “Well look at you, baby sis,” he said, “all grown up and scoring hot chicks in leather.”

“I’m gonna let that one slide, but only because you gave Cassie a heads up on your mother’s plan to set her up with a dude,” Deanna said, shaking his hand.

Gabriel just laughed. “Fair enough, Winchester,” he agreed.

“Yes, thanks, Gabe,” Cass added, “Really.”

“Don’t mention it,” Gabe said with a shrug. “But I need to know—has our dear mother had the pleasure of meeting Deanna yet?”

“Oh, yes,” Cass responded, launching into a brief explanation of what happened last night. Deanna sipped at her coffee and scanned the room again, seeing some people taking in her attire with questioning eyes. She just gave them a falsely cheery smile and wrapped an arm around Cass’s shoulder in response.

Deanna tuned back into the conversation when Gabriel gave a low whistle. “You have some balls on you, Winchester,” he said, “Color me impressed. I’ll be eager to witness another showdown.”

“Oh, I’m sure there will be at least one,” Deanna said with a grimace.

“Just let me know if you need backup,” Gabriel said before tossing back the remainder of his Bloody Mary with a series of loud gulps. “But in the meantime, I’m off to get another one of these.” He waved the empty glass. “Keep your head up against these pricks, you two,” he said with a playful punch to Cass’s shoulder before wandering off towards a server.

Deanna followed him with her eyes bemusedly before realizing Cass was looking up at her with raised eyebrows, awaiting her verdict.

“Your brother is kinda a dick,” she appraised. “But I like him.”

Cass laughed. “Yep, that basically sums up Gabe,” she said with a smile.

The rest of the brunch was marked by not-so-pleasant exchanges with a parade of clueless, stuck up religious extremists.

Deanna met Uriel, one of Cass’s uncles, who looked between them with raised eyebrows before inquiring who Cass’s “friend” was with a tone of disdain. Another uncle, Zachariah, quoted Biblical passages at them and it took all of Deanna’s self-control to not throw her drink in his face. Michael and Rachael never even acknowledged their presence. A cousin named Nathaniel condescendingly asked Deanna if Castiel had turned her away from the path of righteousness with her lifestyle after learning they had been roommates before (supposedly) becoming girlfriends.

“Yes,” Deanna responded to him with a completely straight face, “I caught the gay from your cousin.” She paused for dramatic effect and gave a long sigh. “It unfortunately looks to be incurable in this case,” she said, pretending to tear up.

Cass patted Deanna’s shoulder in mock consolation until Nathaniel hurried away (perhaps afraid that he, too, would catch the gay).

Still, the highlight of the brunch involved Naomi.

Cass’s mother had waited until the one time that Deanna was not at Cass’s side—off getting them drinks of the alcoholic persuasion, following Gabriel’s lead—to corner her daughter.

As Deanna made her way back over to Cass and saw Naomi introducing a supremely uncomfortable looking Cass to a stern-looking man whom could only be Raphael, Deanna gripped the glasses she was holding so tightly she was surprised they didn’t burst.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” she said under her breath, feeling white-hot rage course through her.

That was it. Time for drastic measures.

She took a deep breath. Best not think too hard about what she was about to do or she would lose her nerve.

She put on her best fake smile as she approached the three.

“Hey, baby, sorry—just a bit of a line,” she said, all obnoxiously sweet, handing Cass her drink. Cass took it and had just enough time to send Deanna “save me” eyes before Deanna put her free hand on Cass’s waist and pulled her in to kiss her on the lips.

Deanna met shocked stillness from Cass for a moment and tried to suppress her nerves, hoping she had not crossed a line, before Cass was throwing her free arm around Deanna’s neck and kissing her deeply.

Deanna was lost in it. The people around them, Naomi, Raphael, all the glamor and the vomitingly ornate décor and the pearls and the snide glances all disappeared until it was just her and Cass. Kissing her best friend—even under the circumstances—filled her with a warmth comparable to being wrapped in a blanket on a stormy day. Cass tasted like coffee and rain and earth and softness and home.

She pulled away reluctantly after several long moments once the message had to have been more than abundantly clear to both Raphael and Naomi. Sure enough, Raphael was gone—Deanna had been too immersed in the kiss to even realize that he had walked away.

Naomi, meanwhile, was glaring at the pair of them. “Castiel, really. I expect better from you. Poor Raphael is such a gentleman and he was so eager to meet you. Now you’ve gone and ruined it.”

“Good,” Cass responded, wrapping her arm around Deanna’s waist. “I don’t want a gentleman. I want Deanna,” she said, staring defiantly at her mother.

Deanna knew the statement was for show, and yet she could not suppress the happiness that rose in her chest at even hearing the words.

Naomi just narrowed her eyes before walking away. Deanna and Cass did not look at each other, Deanna not daring to say a word unless she betray everything, but Cass kept her arm around Deanna’s waist—a comforting anchor.

Shortly after that, brunch was cleared away and they had only a brief break to themselves before the rehearsal dinner would begin. They returned to their room to freshen up but barely said a word to each other. Deanna was scared to say anything about the kiss, but as the silence extended as Cass brushed through her hair and touched up her makeup she felt like she had to check—she was more terrified that she fucked up their friendship in some irreparable way.

“We okay, Cassie?” she finally managed in a quiet voice from her spot on the bed.

“What?” Cass asked, sounding alarmed and turning towards Deanna. “Of course, Dee,” she said before sitting on the bed beside her. “I’m sorry—I’m just a bit wrapped up in my head with everything, but god, I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you for everything you’ve already done for me this weekend.”

And there was the guilt again. Deanna felt like a thief, absconding with touches and words and even the greatest treasure of a kiss under completely falsely straight pretenses.

“You don’t need to thank me, Cass,” she instead responded quietly. “I just wanted to make sure I hadn’t—I don’t know…” she trailed off awkwardly. “Crossed a line?”

She saw the understanding flicker in Cass’s eyes. “No, Dee,” she said softly after a pause. “You didn’t.”

They continued to stare at each other for just a little too long until Deanna swallowed loudly and Cass jumped up from the bed.

“We should get back to the battle front,” she said reluctantly. “Are you ready?” Cass proffered a hand.

“As I’ll ever be,” Deanna responded, echoing Cass’s words from this morning as she rose from the bed and took her best friend’s hand.

“I don’t understand how they can eat so much and still be so thin and… bony,” Deanna commented as they descended the stairs, trying to lighten the strange tension between them that she continued to feel despite Cass’s reassuring words. “We just fucking ate through the late morning and early afternoon, and now we’re supposed to eat dinner?”

“It’s in the tiny portion sizes,” Cass said knowingly. “And the fact that it’s all organic and local and therefore extremely expensive.” Deanna laughed and squeezed Cass’s hand as they entered the dinning room—immediate family and their significant others were to be seated there, whereas other wedding guests were being escorted into the sitting room, which had been rearranged once more to accommodate serving dinner to a number of circular tables.

There were already people taking their seats at the long dinning table. Cass’s hand still twined in hers, they peered at the name cards to see where they were meant to sit only to see that the one beside Cass read “Raphael.” Deanna rolled her eyes and threw it aside, not bothering to see if there was even a place set for her and just sitting beside Cass. Jesus, but Naomi was persistent.

Other family members began to take their seats as well. Gabriel was at the other end of the table, too far away to talk to, but Deanna was amused as Nathaniel sat down at his place next to her with a rather startled expression. Michael and Rachael were in the center on the opposite side of the table from where Cass and Deanna were sitting, Zachariah and Uriel were near the head of the table, and a cousin named Inias was seated on the other side of Castiel, but other than that Deanna was unable to place names to faces.

Once everyone else was seated, Naomi sat at the head of the table, her eyes narrowing only slightly when she took in Deanna and Cass’s proximate forms. She gave a brief toast to her son’s happy marriage before calling for the first course to be served.

The first part of dinner managed to be relatively tolerable—Cass and Deanna mostly just kept to themselves, joking under their breath as they tried to guess what they were being served and wondering if they should check for poison.

And then suddenly during the main course Naomi directly addressed Deanna for the first time all day.

“So, Deanna,” she called down the table, causing other side conversations to come to an abrupt halt. “What do you do for a living?”

Deanna heard Cass’s quick intake of breath beside her and was happy when Cass rested her hand on Deanna’s thigh underneath the table for support.

Deanna held her head up high as she met Naomi’s cold gaze. “I’m a mechanic at Singer Salvage Yard,” she said matter-of-factly.

“I see,” Naomi responded, her eyes glinting.

“What… unusual employment for a young… _lady_ ,” Zachariah added, his mocking sneer barely concealed.

“Good thing I’m not a young lady then,” Deanna said cheerfully before taking another large bite of her food.

“Deanna is excellent at her job,” Cass interjected. “She restores classic cars to their original beauty—just go look at the Impala in the driveway if you want proof. She built it herself.” Deanna tried not to smile too obviously at hearing the pride in Cass’s voice.

“And your parents?” Naomi asked, ignoring her daughter in favor of remaining intent on smilingly ripping Deanna apart. “What are their occupations?”

“My mother is dead, and my father is god only knows where,” Deanna said, again meeting Naomi’s eyes, daring her to say something about it. The clinks and scrapes of silverware and plates halted abruptly as all eyes gravitated towards her, but Deanna remained focused on Naomi. She was at least gratified by the alarm that passed over Naomi’s face before it was replaced with her usual mask of cool austerity.

“I see,” Naomi said after a long, tense pause. “So you have no family?”

“I didn’t say that,” Deanna responded, a bit angrier. “Family doesn’t end with blood. A family friend raised my sister and me, and he’s the best father I ever could have asked for. Not to mention my sister Sammy, and Cass here. They’re my family.”

Cass squeezed her thigh.

“Cass told me your sister just got accepted to Stanford?” came Gabriel’s voice from down the table.

Deanna smiled gratefully at him. “She sure did. She’s the brains of the family—she wants to be a lawyer.”

Naomi just raised her eyebrows and turned to say something to Uriel. The tense moment passed and other conversations bubbled up around them again before Deanna finally allowed herself to breathe normally again.

The rest of dinner passed miraculously without incident, mostly because the majority of the table seemed intent upon ignoring Cass and Deanna, which was just fine with them.

The night was almost over—they just had to live through after-dinner drinks in the sitting room and a series of toasts to the happy couple before they could escape to their room.

Which, of course, meant that the universe had saved the most dramatic part of the day for the very end.

Cass and Deanna were laughing together quietly over their drinks on one of the seats pretending to be a couch when Deanna overheard a snippet of a nearby conversation between Zachariah, Uriel, and a few other people she did not recognize.

“Castiel is just confused,” Zachariah was saying. “She will get over this rebellious phase of dating good-for-nothing, low class girls and realize that marriage and children is really what’s best.”

“That homosexual Winchester girl has probably just confused her,” Uriel agreed. “After all, it’s those lower-class types that are more frequently drawn into the sins of fornication and faggotry.”

“Actually, I’m bisexual.”

It took Deanna a moment before realizing that the loud proclamation that had caused conversations to drop and every eye in the room to turn towards her had come from her own mouth.

Shit.

She stood, her heart pounding, and turned towards Zachariah and Uriel before meeting Naomi’s gaze as well.

“I’m bisexual,” she repeated loudly. “Not a ‘homosexual.’ And definitely not a ‘faggot.’ Just thought you should get it right if you’re going to be talking about my sexuality behind my back,” she said.

It was the first time she had ever said it out loud.

She was bisexual.

Some groups around the perimeter of the room just shook their heads and went back to their conversations, but those in the immediate vicinity continued to stare at her, including Zachariah and Uriel. Deanna couldn’t even look at Cass—she supposed that Cass would think this was all part of their act.

It wasn’t. She was having a moment here.

“Maybe you could enlighten my dear uncles a bit, Deanna,” Gabriel’s voice came as he joined the circle of people. “I doubt they have ever been told that sexuality is fluid before. How did you come to realize you were bisexual, if you’d be so kind as to share?”

Deanna met Gabe’s knowing smile and wasn’t sure if she loved him or hated him in that moment. Did he know? Did he suspect that the thing between her and Cass was just an act, but that the truth was breaking through here? Or was he just messing with his family through her?

She realized that she didn’t care. The others continued to stare at her, some looking simply curious, some looking on more menacingly as if waiting for her to flounder.

So she decided to tell the truth.

“I thought I was straight before I met Cass,” she began quietly. “Looking back, I know that wasn’t true—I had suppressed a lot of things throughout the years. And even after meeting Cass, it wasn’t an immediate realization. Hell, it’s taken years,” she admitted.

She was still too scared to look back at Cass’s sitting form, instead looking directly at Gabriel, who gave her an encouraging nod.

“Cass and I were paired as roommates during our freshman year of college,” she said. “And it took her about a year to come out to me, and then another year or so after that to try to come out to the lot of you undeserving assholes,” she said with a glare towards Zachariah and Uriel. “We were best friends and roommates throughout those four years.”

She paused.

Now the hardest part.

“I realized that I was in love with her after we moved into our own place after college,” she said. “It was just like any other day. We were watching _Star Wars_ on the couch and Cass started laughing at R2-D2’s noises and I just… watched her laugh and realized I had been in love with her for years.”

She was trembling. “It took a little while for us to get together,” she lied, remembering that in the story they were actually girlfriends. But then she went back to the truth.”Because I valued our friendship so much and didn’t think she felt the same way.”

She swallowed and met Zachariah’s and Uriel’s disapproving faces defiantly.

“And that’s how I realized I’m bisexual,” she concluded, hoping that she sounded more resilient than she felt.

And then out of the corner of her vision she saw Cass standing and walking towards her with a fierce sort of determination and a fire in her eyes before she took Deanna into her arms and kissed her hard on the lips.

All the warmth and the safety from before was still there, but this kiss was gasoline on the spark inside of Deanna’s chest and she felt she was burning as she wrapped her arms around Cass’s neck and kissed her back.

Cass was pulling away all too soon. “Let’s get out of here?” she asked.

Deanna just nodded mutely.

Without a word Cass took Deanna’s hand and led them up the stairs.

There was so much Deanna wanted to say to her.

“Everything I said was true.”

“Every touch of our skin sends fire through my veins.”

“I can’t imagine living without kissing you each and every day.”

“I love you. I love you, I love you, _I love you_.”

Instead, they just smiled at each other shyly once the door is safely closed behind them. Later as they tried to fall asleep Cass somewhat timidly brought Deanna’s arm around her waist. When Deanna responded by spooning up against her (what a change from this morning), Cass brought Deanna’s hand to her lips and snuggled into her.

They held each other all night, and Deanna was too scared to breathe too loud, to _think_ too loud, terrified that this fragile thing growing between them would fly away once directly acknowledged.

_Tomorrow_ , she thought before drifting to sleep, _maybe tomorrow I’ll find the words_.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning was such a flurry of activity that Deanna and Cass were not forced to confront the ongoing tension between them. They scurried to get ready for the ceremony after sleeping through their alarm, each one a blur of dresses and tights and foundation and mascara wands.

It wasn’t until Deanna was following Cass through the lower level of the house on the way to the mansion’s enormous backyard where the ceremony was being held that Deanna had a moment to take in the beauty of her best friend. While Deanna was wearing a variation of yesterday’s dress—also black, but a little lower cut—Cass had donned a beautiful, flowing lavender dress, her dark hair cascading in perfectly messy waves down her back.

Seeming to sense that Deanna was lingering behind, Cass turned back towards her with a small smile and reached out her hand, which Deanna quickly entwined with hers.

Things weren’t awkward between them per se, but there was a great deal less teasing and easy banter than usual and a great deal more shy smiles and silences on the brink of rupturing and spilling out all that remained unsaid between them. 

Deanna’s determination to tell Cass how she felt mounted, along with a case of gut-twisting anxiety about said declaration.

They were soon ushered to their seats in the very back row of Michael’s section. _Of course_ , Deanna thought to herself with a mental eye roll, _no need to place the queers in a visible section when you can hide us away instead_.

The ceremony itself was by the book—the Good Book, to be exact, as it was accompanied by a mass.

“It is not good that man should be alone,” Inias read for the first passage, “I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Deanna could not hold back her scoff. Cass turned and smiled at her knowingly before rolling her eyes in the direction of the podium.

“She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man,” Inias concluded solemnly.

“It’s only going to get worse from here,” Cass predicted under her breath, and Deanna groaned and took Cass’s hand in hers.

“I guess it is important to know that you are falling short in your duties as a ‘helper’ in not taking a husband,” Deanna whispered with feigned gravitas.

The only good thing about being in the back was that their snickers of laughter were not as obvious.

The second reading was at least as bad as the first. “Who can find a virtuous woman?” a cousin named Hester read. “Her price is far above rubies.”

“Well, if by ‘virtuous’ you mean ‘wants a man’s dick’ and only within marriage, then—”

Cass couldn’t even finish before they both succumbed to giggles, which resulted in glares from those seated around them.

“I wish I had brought a flask,” Deanna whispered, wiping tears from her eyes. “We could have made this a drinking game.”

Cass’s giggling slowed as she turned to Deanna, a variant of those shy smiles from earlier replacing the more open mirth from moments before. “But, Dee,” she said quietly, “then I would be too drunk to be able to dance with you later.”

They held eye contact for just a little too long as Deanna felt a warm sort of nausea rush through her—part nerves, part excitement—before they fell once more into laughter, this time quiet and happy. Deanna moved to wrap her arm around Cass and was pleased when Cass pressed up tightly against her side and placed a hand on Deanna’s thigh.

Deanna was so caught up in Cass that she was only brought back to reality by Zachariah’s nasally voice as he read from the final passage before Michael and Rachel were officially wed.

“For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord,” he was saying in that pompous manner that Deanna had come to loathe. “For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.”

“I think I’m going to vomit,” Cass whispered.

“I may join you,” Deanna agreed with a grimace.

After the readings were completed, the main part of the ceremony was performed. Michael looked rather handsome in his tux, and Rachel looked austere in her bright white wedding dress that was cut in harsh, formal lines that suited her personality. The readings had set the tone to be more ritualistic than celebratory—no heartfelt declarations of love or lengthy vows for the Milton family, apparently.

Still, Deanna had to admit that Michael and Rachel did look very happy as they walked back down the aisle hand in hand, each smiling brightly at one another. If she didn’t know what a self-righteous dick Cass’s brother was, she almost could have been happy for him.

The guests proceeded back into the house for light refreshments as the backyard was once more transformed for the reception. As she and Cass entered the sitting room, Deanna marveled—not for the first time—at the fortune that Naomi must be spending on the hired help for the weekend, wondering what it would be like to have that much money to throw at each and every problem and desire.

Many of the guests were still teary-eyed and gushing over what a beautiful ceremony it was. Deanna and Cass just retrieved some much-needed coffee and kept to themselves in a corner until Deanna coincidentally caught Gabriel’s eye as he entered the room. He gave a little wave and headed towards them with a smile.

“How you holding up, sis? Winchester?” he asked cheerfully. “Had enough of all these heterosexuals yet?”

“God, yes,” Cass groaned. “I’m tempted to just leave now.”

“No, you can’t!” Gabe proclaimed, grabbing onto Cass’s upper arm. “I haven’t seen our dear mother look this perpetually constipated since you came out in the first place!”

Cass clearly couldn’t hold back an almost self-satisfied looking smile at that, which also caused Deanna to laugh.

“Besides,” Gabriel added with a wink in Deanna’s direction, “you can’t leave before you make a scene by gaying up the dance floor.”

Deanna raised her eyebrows at Cass. “Your brother makes some good points,” she acceded with a smirk. “I’m sure the sight of two women slow dancing together will give a lot of these old bats aneurisms.”

Cass smiled and wrapped an arm around Deanna’s waist. “Yes, you’re right, I couldn’t miss that,” she laughed. “Although,” she said, turning towards Deanna, “I propose we pack up the Impala now so we can make a quick getaway whenever we’re ready.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you would make a great battle strategist?” Deanna asked with exaggerated admiration.

Cass huffed a laugh and shoved at Deanna’s arm. “Sure,” she said sarcastically, “the leader of the garrison.”

Deanna took Cass’s hand, and with a wave to Gabriel (who was already eyeing the refreshments hungrily) they headed up the stairs to prepare for a quick getaway.

By the time they were all packed up, Cass had given a salute to her former childhood room, and their bags were in the truck of the Impala, the guests were already slowly migrating outside once more.

“Well, Operation Queer Things Up is almost over, Cassie,” Deanna said with a slightly rueful smile once they were inside the mansion once more. “Ready for the last step?”

“Well, it involves dancing with you, so yes,” Cass responded with a shy smile.

Deanna felt her freckled face flush red. “R-Right,” she spluttered ineloquently. “Let’s do that.”

She took Cass’s hand, trying to control her breathing and prevent from hyperventilating.

It wasn’t even that Deanna had more experience flirting with men—if _anyone_ else had said that to Deanna, she would have immediately recognized it as the obvious flirtation it was and would have responded with some sort of witty, borderline dirty remark and a smirk. But with Cass all bets were off.

She just wasn’t used to acknowledging the possibility that Cass may want her too.

The chairs in the backyard had been cleared away and left only a dance floor, and where the podium and alter had stood there was now a microphone and a DJ station. There were additional places to procure food, and Deanna smiled when she saw that Gabriel was first in line at the open bar.

Since no one was dancing yet, Deanna and Cass sat at one of the tables around the dance floor, leaning towards one another with automatic ease. Cass rested her head on Deanna’s shoulder as they looked around at Cass’s relatives making small talk and gathering food, the DJ getting organized, the kids already running around the dance floor in a frenzy, their miniature dresses and suits somehow already grass-stained.

Deanna tried to just take in the moment, but she could hear her heart hammering in her ears, urging her to speak.

“We should… you know… talk. At some point,” she finally murmured.

Cass pulled back until her blue eyes could meet Deanna’s. “I know,” she whispered in acknowledgment. “But I’m scared.”

Deanna huffed a laugh. “Me too.”

“I… I _think_ I know what you’ll say, but I’m not sure. This weekend has been… well,” Cass faltered with a rueful smile. “It’s been a lot of things. But you have been amazing.” Cass chewed on her bottom lip contemplatively before continuing, “I know we said when we went into this that we would stick as much to the truth as possible. And I guess… I don’t know to what extent you’ve been doing that.”

Deanna nodded, at once understanding just what Cass was trying to ask—whether her little speech last night about her sexuality had been true. She stared at Cass, trying to find the words, but before she could answer the DJ was announcing the first dance between the happy couple.

She swallowed nervously and couldn’t hold back a laugh at the bad timing. Cass seemed to understand and smiled regretfully before turning towards the dance floor to watch her brother and new sister-in-law. Deanna didn’t take in a moment of it—didn’t even register the song that they chose—entirely consumed by thoughts of Cass, of how she was ever going to be able to guide the words to find the path between her heart and her tongue.

Everyone clapped and wiped away tears as the song ended and the couple took their seats. People continued to mill around and get food and drinks, but the DJ opened up the floor to other dancers and began playing his set list for the afternoon.

Cass got pulled into conversation by a distant relative of some sort who was sharing the table with them as the first few songs passed, which was marked only by a few brave couples venturing onto the dance floor.

When Cass was finally turning back towards her, the DJ started up a song that made Deanna laugh at the appropriate opening lyrics.

_I can’t take them on my own, my own/ Oh, I’m not the one you know, you know_

Deanna held out her hand towards Cass. “Want to make a gay scene, Cassie?” she asked with a smirk.

“God, yes,” Cass said, taking Deanna’s hand and following her with an adorable little laugh as Deanna pulled them both towards the still mostly empty dance floor.

As soon as they reached the makeshift dance floor, Deanna took Cass’s other hand in hers. Cass looked at her with raised eyebrows as if to say, “Well, how do you want to do this?”

So Deanna proceeded to dance like a complete and utter dork, moving to the “do-do-do-do”s of the song with a complete lack of abashment, causing Cass to gape at her momentarily before laughing and joining her.

_Don’t want to call you in the nighttime/ Don’t want to give you all my pieces/ Don’t want to hand you all my trouble/ Don’t want to give you all my demons_

Deanna smiled at the lyrics and bumped hips playfully with Cass as they continued to make fools of themselves before leading Cass in a spin, reveling in the way that her beautiful smile lit up her whole face, the way that her dress rippled as she swayed, the way that her long, dark hair whisked out behind her as she twirled.

But tonight I need you to stay

Cass spun into her arms and stayed closer this time as they continued to exaggerate their moves, laughing, but now Deanna could feel the heat of Cass close by, could smell her lavender lotion, her shampoo—

_But tonight I need you to stay/ Tonight I need you to stay/ Tonight I need you to stay/ Tonight I need you to stay/ Tonight I need you to stay_

The song ended and Cass drew Deanna into an easy kiss. It already felt like second nature, and Deanna wasn’t sure how she would survive without it if it turned out Cass didn’t—

“I want to kiss you more often,” she pulled away to whisper before she lost her courage. “Preferably when there aren’t people looking.” She realized the possibly negative implications of what she had just said a moment after. “Oh god, but not like that! I didn’t mean—I just—”

Cass just smiled and kissed her again.

The chords of Etta James’ “At Last” started with such perfect synchronicity that Deanna found herself laughing into Cass’s mouth.

“Dee?” Cass said as she pulled away with an eyebrow quirked. “I thought we were having a moment here?” she teased.

“Sorry,” she laughed. “Just… corny much?”

Cass beamed. “Just dance with me, you idiot,” she said fondly.

So Deanna wrapped her arms around Cass and they swayed to the music, totally unaware of the people around them.

_My lonely days are over/ And life is like a song_

“So,” Cass began again after a minute, still looking shy, “Do you want to be my girlfriend? For real?”

“God, yes,” Deanna answered emphatically.

“Okay,” Cass said with an incredulous smile, “then you’re my girlfriend. I just… I do worry…” she trailed off.

“What, Cass?” Deanna asked nervously, her fingers clutching more tightly to the small of Cass’s back as they moved.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” Cass said quietly. “I don’t want to damage that.”

Deanna nodded contemplatively as the song continued.

_I found a dream, that I could speak to/ A dream that I can call my own/ I found a thrill to press my cheek to/ A thrill that I have never known_

“I was worried about that too,” she finally said after some thought, “But I think I found a solution.”

“And what’s that?”

Deanna smirked. “Fuck our friendship, Cass,” she said bluntly. “I want to be your girlfriend instead. Or… you know… too,” Deanna acquiesced a bit more gently. “I think that was just an excuse holding me back from telling you how I really felt.”

“I know just what you mean,” Cass said, resting her head on Deanna’s shoulder. “And ‘too’ is good.”

_I found a dream, that I could speak to/ A dream that I can call my own/ I found a thrill to press my cheek to/ A thrill that I have never known_

Deanna could feel Cass’s smile.

_You smiled, you smiled/ Oh and then the spell was cast/ And here we are in heaven/ for you are mine… At last_

The song ended and Deanna raised Cass’s chin to kiss her softly on the lips. “You wanna get out of here?” she asked quietly.

Before Cass could answer, they were interrupted by the sound of someone tapping on the microphone on stage.

They both looked up to see Michael there.

“I would just like to say a few words,” he said to call everyone to attention. Deanna and Cass turned towards the stage and joined hands, meeting eyes briefly as if to silently communicate, “Well, this should be good.”

“I wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us today,” he began, and Deanna began to think, _Okay, this might not be so bad_.

“It gives me faith to know that so many still support the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman,” Michael continued. “Our sacred institution is under attack by those who would redefine it or demolish it entirely. But today has reminded me of the beauty of marriage, and how important it is that we continue to defend it. Let us pray that those naysayers find the path of righteousness.”

Cass was holding Deanna’s hand in a death grip so that between that and her own anger, Deanna barely processed what Michael said after that.

Not that she really wanted to. She had heard enough.

She came back to reality with the sound of applause moments later.

“Dee,” Cass said, “I want to leave, but I have to do something first.”

Deanna looked at her questioningly. “Okay, whatever you need, Cassie,” she responded. “The Impala’s ready,” she reminded her.

Cass nodded, dropping Deanna’s hand with a final squeeze and walking towards the stage, stopping the DJ from choosing a next song.

“I would also like to say a few words to follow up on those of my dear brother,” Cass began, to the effect of whispers among the other guests. “A ‘dear brother’ who has yet to acknowledge my presence here this weekend, I might add,” she said with a glare towards Michael.

“Really, I just wanted to thank you all for your warm and welcoming treatment this weekend towards myself and Deanna,” Cass continued. “The constant questioning and denying of our relationship has been a real treat. I particularly enjoyed all the condescending comments of how you are going to pray for me,” she said, her voice dripping in sarcasm, “I mean really. I am touched.”

Deanna was holding her breath the entire time, simultaneously nervous for Cass and so proud of her. She found Naomi’s face in the crowd and had to hold back a laugh—her cool demeanor gone and her face red, it looked like she may burst at any moment.

“I just thought I should let you know that you should start praying a bit harder,” Cass went on, and Deanna could tell she was nervous by the way that she gripped the microphone stand so tightly, although her voice remained steady. “Because I’m about to leave and go fuck my girlfriend in the backseat of her Impala now.”

There were shocked gasps throughout the crowd. Deanna just laughed, simultaneously amused and, well… the thought of Cass spread out in the backseat of her Baby just _did_ things to her, okay?

“That is… if that’s okay with her,” Cass tacked on more shyly, making eye contact with Deanna.

“Uh, yes, um, that,” she spluttered. “ _Yes_.”

Cass beamed and released her death grip on the microphone. “Basically, thanks for reminding me why I left in the first place,” she concluded. “You can all go fuck yourselves.”

And with that she jumped gracefully down from the slightly elevated platform, walked towards Deanna (the other people parting before her path as if she had the plague), entwined their hands once more, and pulled her along beside as they walked back to the house.

They passed Gabriel on the way just before entering the house (as he was still close to the bar), who held out a hand for Cass to high five with a, “Go get some, sis.”

Cass high-fived him before they entered the house, their determined walk slowing for a moment once they were out of sight.

“I just told my whole family I was going to go fuck you,” Cass said quietly, wide-eyed.

“Um… yep, you did,” Deanna confirmed with a smile. “You, um… you planning on following through on that?” she asked hopefully.

“God, yes,” Cass said with a beam.

Their eye contact lingered for a long moment before they began to laugh almost hysterically, hands still entwined, until Deanna began to pull Cass forward again. Still laughing, they broke into a run, dashing through the rest of the house and out to the Impala.

“Go, go, go!” Cass yelled as she went to the passenger side and Deanna unlocked the doors, laughing, until they were both in the get-away car and Deanna was reversing and screeching out of the driveway, away from the Milton’s, and off into the sunset with her girlfriend by her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for a porny conclusion/epilogue! :)


	6. Chapter 6

“Holy hell, Cass, do you want us to die before we ever get a chance to have sex?”

Deanna’s half-hearted protest did nothing to stop her girlfriend— _Girlfriend_ , she thought incredulously, _Cass was her **girlfriend**_ —from nibbling down her neck as Deanna desperately scanned the road for somewhere inconspicuous to pull over.

The lack of a divide between the driver’s and passenger’s seats was both a blessing and a curse as Deanna willed herself to stay focused while Cass’s hand traveled up her tight-clad thigh.

They were about ten minutes out from Cass’s family’s mansion, and goddamn if Deanna could wait another minute without exploding from sexual frustration.

Finally spotting a small dirt road that went off into a grove of trees, Deanna moaned in relief—Cass too was moaning, sucking a hickey onto her shoulder—as she pulled off the main road and parked the car.

With her last rational thought she glanced quickly around to be sure that they could not be seen from the main road before pushing Cass gently away.

Wide, lust-blown blue eyes met hers, looking slightly confused.

“Backseat. Now,” Deanna growled, to which Cass’s eyes lit up once more with mischief as she unceremoniously pushed herself over the seat with a smile. Deanna launched herself over the divide just a bit too hurriedly, causing her to fall on top of Cass with a huff of surprise, which led to both of them giggling like maniacs as they rearranged their bodies to try to find each others’ lips once more.

The laughter dissolved to groans once they were both kneeling on the backseat and Deanna had managed to press her lips into Cass’s, loving that Cass’s pink lipstick was surely already all over her neck and chest and lips if it were already this smeared across Cass’s face.

She couldn’t wait until that lipstick was all over her other lips as well.

The kiss deepened, their tongues sliding against one another until Cass was pulling away with a laugh.

Deanna arched an eyebrow. “Now who’s ruining the moment, Cassie?” she teased, recalling Cass’s earlier words.

“Sorry,” Cass said with a giggle, leaning her head against Deanna’s shoulder, “it’s just—you—it’s absurd—”

“Spit it out, Cass,” Deanna said, becoming a bit self-conscious now, but trailing her fingers down the back of Cass’s dress, eager to feel the bare skin there.

“Your chapstick,” Cass finally got out, pulling back to look Deanna in the eyes, her face flushed.

Deanna looked at her in confusion. “My chapstick?” she asked in astonishment.

“It’s cherry,” Cass said, beginning to laugh harder, holding onto her side. “And I can’t get that stupid Katy Perry song out of my head, and I—”

Deanna took Cass’s face in the palms of her hands. “Are you telling me that a fucking Katy Perry song is getting in the way of me finally fucking you?” she asked, unable feign too much frustration, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

Cass just continued to giggle helplessly, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes as she nodded.

Deanna sighed dramatically. “You always did have shit taste in music, Cassie,” she said. “So I have two remedies.”

“Oh?” Cass asked curiously, obviously trying to regain composure.

Deanna nodded and pushed her upper torso back over the front seat, reaching for her glove compartment, unable to keep from groaning as Cass trailed her hand up her leg before squeezing her ass. She finally found what she was looking for and popped in the tape.

“Houses of the Holy” came through the speakers, and she pushed herself into the backseat with a satisfied grin.

“My favorite mix of Led Zeppelin songs—my first remedy to the case of the Katy Perrys,” she said slyly, already weaving her hands into Cass’s dark curls and straddling her thighs.

“And the second?” Cass asked breathlessly, her laughter gone.

Deanna smiled devilishly. “I’m gonna do a lot more than just kiss you,” she said before pushing Cass down across the backseat until she was on top of her, Cass’s body warm underneath hers, their breasts pressing into each other, moaning simultaneously at the contact.

God, how had they never done this before? How had Deanna gone this long without feeling the joy of having her curves pressed warmly against Cass’s, without feeling Cass’s silky hair entwined in her fingers?

She licked and bit her way down Cass’s neck before sliding back until she was up against the door of the Impala, causing Cass to give a dissatisfied huff that turned into a groan as Deanna reached up to pull down Cass’s tights.

Cass lifted her hips eagerly as Deanna yanked them off unceremoniously along with her underwear, hitching up Cass’s dress. Deanna felt the first flutter of nerves in her stomach, wanting to make this so good for Cass but fearing she lacked in experience with this particular form of sex.

But “When the Levee Breaks” was coming through her Baby’s speakers, and Cass was arching towards her, and god, she wanted this.

So she began kissing her way up Cass’s legs, spreading them further as she licked and bit teasingly at her inner thighs until one of Cass’s legs was bent up over her torso and the other was cast over the front seat. Deanna groaned upon seeing Cass’s vulva, taking in the sweet smell of it briefly before licking over it with the flat of her tongue in a series of slow hard licks.

“Fuck, Dee, _fuck_ ,” Cass moaned, reaching down to clutch at her short hair and arching her pelvis into Deanna’s mouth.

Deanna nearly whimpered before settling herself comfortably between Cass’s thighs, beginning to alternate between circling her tongue over Cass’s clit and weaving her tongue between the beautiful folds of Cass’s labia.

Deanna was as bi as they come, and yet she couldn’t help but think as she lapped up Cass’s sweet wetness that there was a reason they called oral sex with a penis a “job” and oral sex with a vagina “eating out.”

She looked up to see Cass pressing her head into the backseat and up against the other door of the Impala with eyes closed as she whimpered, clutching onto Deanna’s upper left arm in a near death-grip.

Deanna pulled away briefly to suck on her right ring and middle finger, getting them wet before sliding them into Cass, who just arched upwards with an aborted cry of “De—” as Deanna crooked them upwards and began to suck at Cass’s clit.

“Please, god, please, Dee, _fuck_ ,” Cass cried out incoherently, and Deanna pressed into Cass with more determination than ever, so turned on by the usually quiet and polite Cass turning into a loud, swearing mess by the work of her own hands and mouth.

Then Deanna began to press at Cass’s clit in hard circles with her thumb and Cass yelled out.

“God, yes, just like that, don’t stop, Dee, please, right there—”

And Deanna continued to rub into her girlfriend’s swollen clit until Cass tumbled over the edge of orgasm with a groan, her body convulsing beautifully to the guitar riff of “Whole Lotta Love,” her dress clinging to her body and her hair spread out messily and cascading over the edge of the seat.

Deanna was completely mesmerized. No one was supposed to look that beautiful while coming apart.

Once Cass’s body stilled and her breathing slowed marginally, she grabbed desperately at Deanna until Deanna was pulled down on top of her and into a messy kiss, Cass groaning as she explored the taste of herself on Deanna’s tongue.

“One orgasm in and you haven’t even actually seen me naked yet,” Cass said with a contented sigh as she pulled away to rest her forehead against Deanna’s.

Deanna just hummed contentedly before kissing reverently around Cass’s face and neck, at a complete loss for words.

“Your turn,” Cass whispered, pushing up at Deanna with a mischievous smile before biting her impishly on the bottom lip.

Suddenly Deanna was the one on her back as Cass pulled off her tights and then quickly made to get rid of her dress, undoing the zip on the side with hurried ease before tugging on the fabric impatiently as Deanna arched her body to accommodate its removal. Soon it was tossed to the floor along with her tights, and Deanna’s hands were finding the back zipper on Cass’s dress as Cass began to kiss hungrily down her sternum before reaching back to unclasp her bra.

Deanna arched up to throw her bra to the side as Cass sat back to pull of her own dress until Cass was down to only her bra and Deanna only her underwear, both of them reaching for the other’s final piece of clothing in the same moment, limbs clashing awkwardly as they both smiled and laughed and groaned all at once until they were finally, _finally_ bare before one another.

Deanna barely had time to take in Cass’s beauty before Cass’s mouth was on her breast, biting at a nipple as she pinched the other between her forefingers, causing Deanna to let out a loud whimper as she arched into the touch. Cass continued to suck marks around her breasts as Deanna leaned her head back, panting, one hand buried in Cass’s hair and the other gripping at her shoulder.

The slow beat of “Dazed and Confused” streamed into the car as Cass began to kiss her way down Deanna’s stomach until she was throwing Deanna’s legs over her shoulders and diving right in to eating Deanna out, the sudden movement making Deanna cry out as Cass’s warm mouth met her vulva.

Finally, what was left of that pink lipstick was going to be smeared all over Deanna’s inner thighs.

That was the last semi-coherent thought that Deanna had for a long while as Cass gripped onto her ass and flicked at her clit in rough strokes of her tongue. Deanna’s eyes fluttered shut and she unconsciously rocked her hips forward until Cass was entering her with two slick fingers, the angle accommodating greater depth as Cass continued to circle Deanna’s clit with her tongue.

Perhaps sensing that Deanna was already alarmingly close to the edge by her long, low whimpers, Cass slowed down to lap at her with several slow, broad strokes of her tongue, giving her ass a firm squeeze as Deanna just melted helplessly into the leather of the backseat.

“Please, please, _please_ , Cassie, god, been waiting long enough,” she could hear herself distantly begging as she looked up at Cass, but it was only after a teasing grin and a playful slap to her ass that Cass focused on her clit once more, flicking it in hard, fast motions with her tongue in just the way Deanna needed until Deanna could feel herself shaking apart, her every limb trembling as the fantastic sensation of _toomuchtoomuch_ flowed through every limb and into her fingertips and toes until she broke, wave after wave cascading through her as she sobbed contentedly.

Her orgasm was so intense that the corners of her vision remained fuzzy as she came back into her body. Cass gave her a few last gentle licks before lowering her thighs and crawling up the length of the backseat to kiss Deanna lazily, their naked bodies finally meeting, causing them each to sigh happily into each others’ mouths.

Cass lowered herself next to Deanna until they were holding each other in the narrow space, both breathing heavily, their warm skin sticking pleasantly to one another.

They didn’t say a word for a long while, sometimes kissing, sometimes just smiling somewhat deliriously at one another, tracing their fingers along each others’ curves and edges, Cass mapping constellations in Deanna’s freckles as the comforting chords of “Ten Years Gone” washed over them.

Soothing palms and gentle fingertips turned into playful squeezes and pleasant twists of the skin until their kisses became deeper and more desperate. They turned on their sides and pressed impossibly closer along the backseat as their breaths became more uneven, their touches rougher until Cass’s hand was at Deanna’s still-sensitive clit once more and Deanna was exploring the wet folds of Cass’s vulva with two fingers.

Each one took a quick intake of breath, and Deanna closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against Cass as she got her fingers wet in Cass before playing with her swollen clit once more.

It was slower this time, almost lazy in their strokes, their breaths loud against the quiet chords of “The Rain Song” as Deanna felt herself spiraling up towards orgasm again.

_You are the sunlight in my growing—so little warmth I’ve felt before./ It isn’t hard to feel me glowing—I watched the fire that grew so low._

Deanna nearly sobbed with the pleasure of it as Cass crooked a finger inside of her and continued to slowly tease her clit, to which Cass made soothing sounds before sucking a hickey onto Deanna’s exposed throat.

_Speak to me only with your eyes. It is to you I give this tune./ Ain’t so hard to recognize—these things are clear to all from time to time._

And then Deanna was gasping and coming into Cass’s hand, slow and long and hard.

_I’ve felt the coldness of my winter/ I never thought it would ever go. I cursed the gloom that set upon us/ But I know that I love you so._

With a few more hard circles to her clit Cass was following her over the edge with a quiet moan, trembling in Deanna’s arms and burying her head into the crook of Deanna’s neck.

_These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall/ This is the wonder of devotion—I see the torch we all must hold./ This is the mystery of the quotient—Upon us all, upon us all a little rain must fall._

As they panted against each others’ skin, Deanna was mortified to find herself blinking away tears. She had a lot of sex. Good sex, bad sex, awkward sex, drunk sex, you name it.

But she had never had sex like that.

_Just a little rain. Oh, oh, yeah._

But then again, she had never loved anyone like she loved Cass.

Several minutes later they cracked open the door to let in the fresh air, the cool breeze caressing their sweat-slicked bare skin and dissipating the fog on the windows. As they laid there in quiet contentment, Deanna realized that she had had her fair share of rain. She was ready for this—to love Cass and let herself be loved.

“I love you,” she breathed against the top of Cass’s head.

She could feel Cass smile against her skin from where she was pressed up against her.

“And I love you, Dee,” Cass responded with a happy sigh.

Deanna beamed and kissed Cass’s forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading--it was a joy to write! :) Also special thanks to my amazing girlfriend Chanel for inspiring a lot of the characterizations/ events. <3 
> 
> I'd love to hear what you thought in the comments! My tumblr is rambleondeanna for anyone interested in more fem!destiel/ femslash/ drabbles!


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